In the hair styling procedure commonly referred to as "frosting" or "streaking", spaced groups of hair strands are separated from the scalp hair and treated with bleach or dye solutions, or pastes, to present the desired color streaked or "frosted" effect. Various procedures have been devised for such hair treatment, all of which are tedious to perform and require substantial skill on the part of the operator, if satisfactory results are to be achieved. In the procedure usually used if substantial portions or the entire head of hair is to be streaked or frosted, an impervious cap is placed over the scalp and selected strand groups are pulled through openings in the cap with a hook-like implement inserted through small openings in the cap at the desired locations, after which they are separately treated with bleaching paste or the like at the outside of the cap.
In another procedure, the operator selects locks of hair from the scalp with the use of a comb, holds the hair thus lifted between the third and fourth finger of the opposite hand, and then weaves a "rats-tail", usually a projection at one end of the comb, in and out along the lock of hair so held to separate spaced strand portions to one side for treatment. This procedure is repeated successively at various locations on the scalp to achieve a desired overall effect in the finished coiffure. It will be readily apparent that this method of weaving a rat-tail or elongated pick at the end of the comb in and out of locks of hair to effect separation of hair strand groups for color treatment requires great dexterity on the part of the operator, and is particularly time consuming if substantial portions of the hair are to be treated.
In my U.S. Pat. No. 4,325,393, issued Apr. 20, 1982, I describe a hair strand separating implement with spaced hook members moveable between open and closed positions to facilitate the withdrawal, simultaneously, of spaced groups of hair strands from the scalp for separate "frosting" or "streaking" treatment, thereby obviating the deficiency of previous procedures for this purpose. It is the principal object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved combination hair strand separating implement and comb which is even more time saving and efficient in that it eliminates the need for the operator to switch between use of a comb or brush and a multiple strand lifting implement during a "frosting" or "streaking" procedure.
A more particular object is to provide a combination hair strand separating implement and comb wherein the hair strand hooking mechanism is actuated and released with use of the thumb while holding the device for use as a comb, whereby the device can be quickly manipulated in the hand for use either as a comb or for inter-hooking combed hair strands to be selected for treatment.
Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved combination hair strand separating implement and comb of the character described that is so simple and effective in operation as to be well suited to self use by individuals in hair "streaking" or "frosting".
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description when read with reference to the accompanying drawings.